Review: The Knight and Maggie's Baby by Lisa Mondello

banner created by Snowdrop Dreams of Books

The Knight and Maggie's Baby by Lisa Mondello

Publisher: self published

Published: August 30, 2011

Pages: 191

Received: part of Bewitching Book Tour

BUY NOW: Amazon | Smashwords | iTunes | Barnes & Noble

Sometimes fate needs a little help…

Jonah Wallace knows what it’s like to grow up without love. Despite having more money than the Queen of England, his childhood was cold and stale as he grew up in boarding schools. He’s dedicated his life to helping homeless and displaced children find the love and support they need by creating the Haven House Foundation, work that resulted in him being Knighted by the Queen.

Now that he’s living in America, his work is going along just fine…until his grandfather gives fate a little nudge by insisting he take a wife before he can inherit.

Coffee shop owner, Maggie Bonelli, is pregnant and the baby’s dad has gone AWOL. She knows too well the pain of growing up without a daddy. So when Jonah Wallace comes into her shop proposing marriage for a year, she takes him up on his offer, even if it’s only for a year. Live in a mansion and give her baby a name and a daddy to call his/her own. But can they keep their perfect arraignment strictly business…or will fate’s helping hand bring them love at last?

This book was such a sweet love story. I actually have a soft spot for stories that involve marriages of convenience – normally they are historical romances, but this contemporary romance was spot on.

Jonah is a sexy, British man (who has been knighted by the Queen) in need of a bride, so that he can inherit his childhood home back in England. At first Jonah seemed to be the kind of man that was only concerned for himself, since this wedding arrangement would be one of necessity and not love. There was just something about him that I knew would come shining through by the end of the book. I mean, he created wonderful haven's for orphaned children, there must be some soft spot in that heart of his.

Maggie is a hard working young woman who just so happens to be a soon-to-be single mom. She is stubborn and cautious, since the father of her baby took off after hearing of the pregnancy. Maggie has a hard time letting people in and finds Jonahs marriage proposal to fit just what she needs at this time in her life – a contract that will help them both.

It came as no surprise that I started pining away that this couple would really fall in love with each other, regardless of their contractual marriage. I kept hoping and wishing one of them would just speak up and tell the other about their feelings, but they were both so darn stubborn. All of the tiny moments they share here and there were so sweet, like the scene where he attempts to teach her to play the piano – she truly wants to learn, they laugh and enjoy each others company, but doubt pushes them apart as they start to have feelings for one another. Such a heart tugging book.

The one person in this book that truly added depth to Jonah's character was his maid, Mary. She helped raise him as a child and though she still works for him, she acts like a grandmother or mother figure to him. There is a quote from Mary that made my heart swell:

“Do you think it was your mom who asked me to bring you baked cookies while you were away at boarding school? Do you think all my scolding and patching up your knees was because...” Mary let her voice trail off and shook her head. “I don't know why, but I missed you. Trouble and all. I worry over you and I want you to be happy. And you don't have a drop of my blood flowing through your veins.”

I will say that the last section of the book had me in tears because it was so beautiful. Such a lovely story of two people falling in love against the odds.